Genocide Survivors Win Case In The Netherlands

Survivors of the Genocide against Tutsi living in The Netherlands are jubilating after a Dutch media regulatory organ ruled in their favour following a complaint against a misleading article on Genocide.

Ibuka, an umbrella of Genocide survivors, had complained against an article titled; “Ik een moordenaar” (Me a murderer?) authored by a freelance journalist, Anneke Verbraeken.

Ibuka says the article, which was published in a Dutch media outlet Vrij Nederland, portrayed Jean Claude Iyamuremye as a victim, yet he is a genocide perpetrator.

Iyamuremye is facing an extradition case in Netherlands, but Verbraeken , an anti-Rwanda propagandist, portrayed him in her article as a victim rather than a suspect.

The Netherlands Media Council ruled Tuesday that the author exhibited a “tendentious, activist and non-truthful image” and added that, “the journalist is free to express personal opinions, but in this article the author didn’t clarify distinction between facts, allegations and her personal opinions.”

The Dutch media regulatory organ further concluded the author made biased reporting and provided inaccurate information.

In June 2014, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that, The Netherlands is allowed to extradite Jean Claude Iyamuremye 38, a Genocide suspect to Rwanda.

Thus, he was set to be the very first Rwandan to be extradited, out of an estimated 20 genocide suspects living in The Netherlands. The extradition has not yet taken place.

Iyamuremye will be extradited to answer genocide crimes he allegedly committed at former ETO Kicukiro in Kigali, where thousands of Tutsi were slaughtered in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.

In August 2015, Members of Parliament from The Netherlands, a country known for supporting Rwanda’s justice system visited Rwanda and said their country is weighing out extraditing Genocide suspects on their soil.

“We are not a country where criminals should expect safe haven. But we are a country of peace and we need to always strike a balance between the two,” Sharon Sesthuizen, the head of delegation said.